Tachybaptus is a genus of small birds of the grebe family. The genus name means "quick diving": it is from Ancient Greek takhys "quick" and bapto "I dip". It has representatives over much of the world, including the tropics.

Grebes are aquatic diving birds in the order Podicipediformes. Grebes are widely distributed freshwater birds, with some species also found in marine habitats during migration and winter. Most grebes fly, although some flightless species exist, most notably in stable lakes. The order contains a single family, the Podicipedidae, which includes 22 species in six extant genera.